Lumen sat on the edge of his bed, staring at the cracked wall in front of him.
The room was quiet.
Too quiet.
The events of the day replayed in his mind like fragments of a dream he couldn't wake from.
Sophia. The whispers. The stares. The way the air itself had moved around her fists.
And then—
The beating. The alley. The ground.
His fingers twitched.
"…The book...Wait the book!"
He straightened suddenly, eyes widening.
The grimoire.
His gaze snapped to the table where it usually lay.
Empty.
His breath hitched.
"Oh no… I lost that book!."
Panic surged through him before he could stop it.
His chest tightened, heart pounding faster as he searched the small room—under the table, beside the mattress, near the door.
A knot twisted in his stomach.
"What if someone else picked it up?" he muttered.
Nothing.
His hands trembled.
"That creepy book… I actually lost it !"
Then—
He paused.
Something felt… off.
Why did that bother him?
He frowned, slowly sitting back down.
"…Wait."
His brows knitted together.
"Why do I even feel bad about it?"
It wasn't his. He hadn't paid for it. He didn't even know what it was.
If anything, losing it should've been a relief.
That book was strange. Unnatural. It felt like it didn't belong in his life.
"…Maybe it's better this way," he muttered.
He exhaled and leaned back against the wall.
His stomach growled.
Right.
He was hungry.
Lumen stood up, grabbed a cup noodle from the shelf, poured hot water into it, and sealed the lid.
Three minutes.
He sat down again, waiting.
Steam curled upward.
His thoughts drifted aimlessly.
The bullying. Sophia's eyes. The way the world seemed to be closing in on him.
"…What a day," he sighed.
He leaned against the counter and waited.
His thoughts wandered again.
Unwanted.
His thoughts was filled with onle one name.
Sophia.
The way she stepped.
The way her feet didn't quite touch the ground.
The way the bullies' punches slid off, like something unseen bent the air.
"…That wasn't normal," he whispered.
No matter how many times he replayed it, the explanation never came.
Wind didn't do that. People didn't do that.
And yet—
She looked calm. Controlled. Like it was routine.
"Sophia,Who…are you really?" he murmured.
The timer beeped.
Lumen snapped back to reality.
"Right. Food."
He peeled the lid open and lifted his chopsticks.
That was when—
The light appeared.
A sudden brilliance flooded the room, sharp and blinding, tinged with deep violet.
"What—?!"
Lumen jerked back, noodles spilling onto the floor.
The air warped.
Space itself seemed to fold inward.
Then—
Something materialized in front of him.
Floating.
Silent.
Unavoidable.
The grimoire.
His breath caught in his throat.
"…No."
The book hovered at eye level, its dark cover pristine, untouched by dust or damage. The emerald gem at its center pulsed softly, as if alive.
"Oh no…"
A chill crawled up his spine.
"I lost it… and it came back!?."
The emerald gem flared brighter.
Suddenly, the book did not open.
Instead—
A translucent blue screen unfolded from the gem, spreading through the air like a hologram.
Lumen froze.
Words began to appear.
SYSTEM UNLOCKED
His heart slammed violently against his ribs.
"…System?"
The screen shifted.
New text formed.
NAME: Lumen Mystique
STATE OF EXISTENCE: Mortal
RACE : HUMAN
PROFESSION: Death Lord
ATTRIBUTE: Dark
His blood ran cold.
"Death...Lord?"
The words felt heavy.
Final.
The screen continued.
SKILLS: None
AUTHORITY: Authority of Death (Lv.1)
"Authority?."
Before he could process it, more information surfaced.
SKILL SHOP: UNLOCKED
SOUL POINT SYSTEM: UNLOCKED
SOUL POINTS MAY BE EXCHANGED FOR SKILLS
Lumen's breathing grew shallow.
"What the....Is this a game?" he whispered.
This wasn't flashy. This wasn't colorful.
It felt cold. Bureaucratic. Like a judgment.
His eyes locked onto one final line as it slowly appeared at the bottom of the screen.
The emerald gem pulsed once.
The room darkened.
Lumen felt something deep inside him stir—something ancient, heavy, and impossibly vast.
Something that had been waiting.
The screen flickered.
Then a final message appeared.
WELCOME, BEARER OF DEATH.
The light vanished.
The grimoire dropped gently into his hands.
The cup noodles lay forgotten on the floor, cold and untouched.
Lumen stared at the book, fingers trembling.
"…What did I just get myself into?"